‘Temples built by Chola rulers still stand tall'
Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam (left) presenting 'Authentic Historian of India-2012' award to Archaeologist R. Nagaswamy (right) at a function organised by the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis in Coimbatore on Saturday. President of the club N. Venkatesh (centre) is in the picture. —Photo: M. Periasamy
The two-day seminar on ‘Cholas, Their Great Heritage', organised by Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis, drew attention to the contribution of the Chola kings, who have left behind a large number of sculpture-rich temples.
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi inaugurated the seminar and the new website of the Club. R. Nagaswamy, archaeologist, epigrapher, writer and composer of dance dramas was conferred the Vocational Excellence Award. Swami Dayananda Saraswathi threw light on the attitude of the Chola rulers towards life and God when he pointed out that the temples built by the Chola rulers still stand tall, while their palaces are gone.
R. Nagaswamy's address on the cosmic dance of Shiva made people marvel at the greatness of not only the kings and stapathis but also the speaker's research. He explained that the outer circle on the Nataraja represented the sky, the 27 flames-the stars, the crocodile-the flowing waters and the dwarf on which Shiva stands -ignorance. He established that just as heat and light are the two inseparable aspects of the Sun, Shiva and Vishnu or, Shiva and Devi, are inseparable because they are not two but one.
Computer engineer R. Gopu's all-consuming passion for history was evident in his presentation on the history of Cholas. He gave a brief but comprehensive idea about the hierarchy of the Chola kings, and explained their contributions through photographs of the sculptures from various temples in the State, pointing out that it was the Cholas who started the tradition of building granite temples. Chithra Madhavan's extensive research in Indian history and archaeology came through in her breezy account of the early Chola temples. Excellent photographs that minutely focussed on the beauty of the miniature sculptures usually overlooked by the visitors were an added attraction. She spoke with conviction that the temples of the early Chola period were in no way less important than the great and popular temples of the later Cholas like the Thanjavur and Darasuram temples.
K.P. Umapathy Acharya's presentation on ‘Shilpa Shastra and Its Application' wowed the delegates when he presented the qualifications and qualities required of a sculptor
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